Let's Talk Why I Hate Modern Fandom · 5:47pm Nov 14th, 2018
A preface: This isn't just about MLP fandom, it's about the nature of fandom in general and will most likely veer off into "Old Man Yells at Cloud" territory at some point.
The internet is a wonderful thing. It's managed to bring fans of all sorts of things, past and present, together to share, discuss, and generally geek out over their favorite things. Having been there in the early days, before Reddit or image boards, or even online forums (Seriously, my first interactions with internet fandom was over email mailing lists), it was a great thing to see all these different people come together in mutual admiration of all sorts of things. Yes, there were jerks even then, but they were usually few and far between and tended to get the idea that they weren't welcome rather quickly.
But, as we all know, time moves faster on the internet, and soon I was participating in message boards for various things. A lot of things started coming out of the woodwork. Trolls emerged during this time and yes, I fell for them. I did things in my 20s 1 online which I am not proud of and was rightly called out on. I resolved to be better and try not to let that kind of thing happen again.
Fast forward about 15 years or so, and I don't know what the hell happened. Suddenly, being an asshole is all anyone seems to want to do. It has to be YOUR head canons above all others, YOUR ships are the only valid ships, harassing people who don't agree with you or even just for laughs is perfectly acceptable behavior.2
And don't get me started with the wave of assholes around my age who are whining about how reboots of 80s cartoons (or movies, or comics) are getting ruined through "forced diversity" and God forbid, main characters who aren't the white male default.3 If I never see another fucking YouTube screed about how some media project is bad because blah-blah-blah-SJW-blah-blah-blah-PC BULLSHIT-blah-blah-blah it'll be too soon.4
All this bullshit is why I don't really bother with fandoms nowadays. Here in the MLP fandom, my only real interactions are with fellow authors in the Beanis Cinematic Universe, and even though I don't agree with all them all of the time, we're all able to be civil and get along. I'm too old and too tired to fight every swaggering jackass who simply cannot let people enjoy the thing their way without coming in and shitting all over their fun. Fuck those guys. And fuck the gatekeepers who feel everyone has to have the same level of knowledge/love/drive/whatever that they do to be considered part of the fandom.
I've seen fans across the internet deliberately drive people to kill themselves, others force fans to disappear from the internet due to continued harassment, jackasses who think exposing kids and people who don't want to see mature content to said content just because they get off on the power trip, and guys (it is almost always guys) whose entire objection to something almost always boils down to "I can't jerk off to this!"
I've seen talented creators get driven off working on properties they love because of how entitled and obnoxious that fans have been, have been very vocal about how much the fandom ruined it for them, and as a result, made other fans who had nothing to do with the problem become trepidatious about approaching those creators out of fear they'll be dismissed as part of the problem. I've seen fans so entitled, they told the CREATORS OF A SHOW that the series ended wrong because their particular OTP wasn't made canon at the end. Even here in the MLP fandom, I have seen people actually state that the people who work on the show can't declare whether something is or isn't canon!
Any time I see someone unironically say "it doesn't belong to the creators/producers/showrunners, it belongs to us!" I just want to find that person and smack them with a rubber chicken until the stupid falls out. Creations belong to the creators (or, in the case of work-for-hire, the people who hired them to create it) not to the fans. You don't get any say as to what is or isn't canon, or what elements "belong" in a show, or game, or book, or whatever. You are the audience, not the storyteller. Do fans help a project's success and profile, sure. But not as much as you think.
You're free to express your opinion on whatever media you consume. That's fine. But nobody is required to agree with you, and the creators of that media have exactly ZERO obligation to give any credence to anything you say.
Again, I don't really have a closer to this. I'm just a tired, bitter old man who's so sick to death of everyone treating their favorite media like it personally owes them something. It doesn't. It is a product to be consumed. You can love it all you like, and the creators may be appreciative of your support, but that doesn't mean your way is the only way to love something.
1 As you grow older, kids, you will come to realize that you were a) dumb as a post, b) a raving egomaniac, and c) kind of an asshole in your 20s. This happens to EVERYBODY.
2 I remain convinced that half the bad reputation the MLP fandom has is because it more or less got started as another of 4chan's harassment gags, which got subverted when people realized the show was actually good, despite being tied to a toy line, and those that came along decided to be creeps and shock jocks "for the lulz."
3 Please keep your anti-SJW bullshit to yourself. I have neither the time nor the patience to deal with anyone who thinks marginalized groups be it based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or whatever getting more screen time in mass media is a bad thing or "erasing white men." If you really feel that way, why the fuck are you in a fandom where the cast of characters is literally 90% female?
4 Side note: YouTube's recommendation algorithm is invited to cordially go fuck itself.
A-fucking-men.
Amen to that!
You know what? "A-fucking-men" doesn't do this post justice. It makes it look like I only skimmed through this entry and gave a half-hearted response. So now, I'm going to put as much effort into this comment as you did on this blog.
Ahh, the good old days. Hardly an asshole in sight back then. The internet truly is magical.
I can identify with that. I did some pretty stupid shit myself. Good on you for improving yourself! =)
It drives me crazy that there are so many people out there like that now. Where do people get off foisting their opinions like that?
I'm sorry you had to see all that. Diversity is what makes this world great!
Seriously, where do you find these people? If everyone had the same level of "whatever", then that would just be boring now, wouldn't it? (Side note: Glad I get along with you. =) )
I hope those bastards are banned. I mean, really. What kinds of sick fucks pull that shit? Not to mention you don't have to get off to have a good time.
That's just sad. And messed up on so many levels. Do they listen to themselves?
I hear that, but I think the stupid's permanent. The customers are basically telling the creators how to do their job when they likely wouldn't know what to do with the content!
If only it were that easy to convince some people...
Damn straight. And hey, if you want to vent again, I'm all ears.
Guilty. ^_^;
Agreed. 4chan's a messed-up place, man.
They haven't realized the irony, that's probably why.
I hope my reply was worth it for you. Keep on keeping on! =)
Hear hear! Very well said on all counts, good sir. I raised my glass to you!
*raises a bottle of diet coke as I'm at work and can't actually drink at this time*
(Alternate Response Title:
YU DERN KIDS GIT OFF MAH PROPERTY!)
Yeah. I've grown rather sick of being labeled as "part of a fandom" myself, and I'm only 23. During my time in the MLP fandom, I've seen it go from mostly welcoming and friendly to a minefield of toxicity. I've seen so much pointless drama that actually ruined friendships in a fandom about a show about how to be good friends. It's gotten so bad from my point of view that I hate labeling myself as a Brony now just because of the negative baggage that comes with it.
The bit about the SJWs? It mostly doesn't bother me. Because, ya know, heaven forbid we have diversity in storytelling.
The part I hate about it are the loudmouths that have to annoyingly rub it in my face 24/7. As long as I don't have to deal with those kinds of people, I'm fine.
And yes, YouTube's programming/programmers can go fuck themselves. I'm still waiting for the announcement that my favorite content creators have found a better site. As soon as I get the word, I'm jumping ship and never looking back.
Can't disagree. Hell, I've honestly been quoting Yahtzee Croshaw on fans for years now:
I've come up with a specific term for the kind of assholes you described that give fandoms a bad name; fanbrats.
Fanbrats are not actual fans. They're obnoxious douchebags who think they're fans and think they know better than the creators, but in reality just want to ruin things for everyone else.